Celebrate Not Shutdown Different Perspectives

How many times have we heard that we make better decisions by exploring different points of view, celebrating diversity of thought, holding listening sessions and simply being open to others ideas. However, like many things we do not always practice what we preach.

It never ceases to amaze me how emotional we can become on certain issues but at other times shrug off much more meaningful incidents without a thought.

Selective outrage is something we must guard against and not allow group think or herd mentality to take hold. Misguided moral authority and the shutting down of discussion without the opportunity to have civil disclosure and a meaningful conversation is simply muzzling and draining out one of the key tenets our country was founded on; freedom of speech.

This week, there was a great illustration of this at work. There was outrage aimed against a couple in Portland who would not participate in a ceremony for a gay couple. The clients were being served like all others but they hold deeply religious beliefs and declined from participating in the ceremony itself. When is it right to impose our will on people, unless it is of a serious safety issue or a legal offense. The level of vile posts and contempt for this baker couple is out of control. Now pivot to Chicago where this year alone there as been a new record number of our citizens killed in the inner city.

We have to start caring about the big things that we need to solve and not get involved in local disputes. We have to raise above the nonsense and the constant self manufactured outrages. At times it appears that causes are looking for problems to magnify and amplify their plight and do so at increasingly any cost.

How can it possibly be that the outrage against this baker couple is 100 fold the coverage given to Chicago. We should be exercising our first amendment rights and demanding a solution to issues like Chicago. We have to guard against selective moral outrage and concentrate on solving big issues. We as a country need to raise above the petty and work on making a positive difference. Solving the big issues like Chicago should be a daily focus. There needs to be a visible plan and one where the country can all galvanize and help to solve.

We all can help this by not commenting on others hurtful posts that only provide greater oxygen and most times are not supported by the appropriate facts. Yes, You can be offended but outraged beyond belief I think not. We need to put things in to appropriate context and ask yourself if you made a decision to stand by your moral beliefs that this how you would like to be treated? I hope not.

Over the next few weeks I will be taking this line of thinking in to the business world and be posting a series of articles encompassing my thoughts. I will be challenging my own evolution of thought and explore if in business we are focusing on the big things that make a difference or playing small ball around the fringes. Are we being inclusive and getting the best out of the entire organization are or we shutting people down and not allowing for new idea to blend in with the old. like in all aspects of life we need to evolve and become better than the day before.